Current Bluetooth® pairing technologies for the automotive environment consist of a variety of methods that exchange a personal identification number (PIN) to confirm correct pairing between an automobile and a communication device. Conventional Bluetooth® systems are implemented to make the user manually put the desired cellular phone in a Bluetooth® discovery mode and enter a user-generated PIN number in the vehicle system. The vehicle then sends this PIN to Bluetooth® devices in the vicinity that have their discovery mode activated. The activated devices in discovery mode receive the vehicle's request and prompt their user to enter a PIN. Once entered correctly, the system validates and internal Bluetooth® addresses and settings can be exchanged. Conventional systems for Bluetooth® pairing between the phone and the vehicle systems use similar methods. In some instances, the PIN can be automatically generated by the phone or the vehicle and entered in the other's prompt.
Conventional systems and methods require that the user entering a PIN into a device to validate the pairing intention. This action can be confusing and difficult in many situations. In addition, conventional systems and methods require the user to put their phone device in the discovery mode (or similar mode). Although the effort between devices differs, this process is often confusing and difficult to achieve within a reasonable amount of effort and time in particular to users uncomfortable with cell phone technology.